


sitting on a bench

by thepineapplegod



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Child manipulation, Rushed Friendship, Sort Of, but not really, pregame, theres also some unfunny humor, what do i even tag this as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 20:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20476910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepineapplegod/pseuds/thepineapplegod
Summary: But to her surprise, she felt another presence sit beside her.She whipped her head around, and sure enough, the other teen had taken a seat beside her. He had his bag in his lap now, and was looking down and away from her. This made Himiko's suspicions rise.Just what was this guy planning?Nothing ever good came out of these confrontations. Was he trying to hit on her in a weird way that wasn't hitting on her at all?Himiko looked away again, trying to ignore him, but she knew it was too late. Her curiosity and wariness was also two of her worst enemies.-----A unlikely friendship blooms. Takes place pregame.





	sitting on a bench

**Author's Note:**

> ok so now this one was rushed
> 
> i honestly think im gonna stick with shipping drabbles for now-
> 
> im really not proud of this,, at all. i wrote it while i was sleep deprived lol so its not that good,,
> 
> im espiecally not happy with how i wrote my pregame kokichi, and everything is sorta forced lol
> 
> i'll probably write musings behind the scenes to get ahold more of his character 
> 
> but i hope yall enjoy at least lol
> 
> alt title:
> 
> wlw and mlm bond over panta

Boredom was, perhaps, Himiko’s worst enemy.

Which wasn’t very good, considering her world was practically filled with boring things.

The kids were boring. Her family was generic and boring. School was boring. Even her favorite TV shows were getting boring. Well, except for maybe Danganronpa, but even that was getting old, and soon enough, it would get boring too.

The only thing that wasn’t boring was scamming kids out of money.

It was a less than wholesome thing to do, sure, tricking little kids to giving her money by offering to do some ‘magic tricks’ for them. Himiko knew that if her parents knew, they would have a fit.

But wasn’t it the parents of the kids fault for giving their 5 year old money?

Then again, people didn’t really care what happened in the real world. Someone could be kidnapped in front of a huge crowd, and Himiko doubted anyone would help them. Too busy on their phones.

But at least Himiko did the magic trick. Simple tricks as they may be, like pick-a-card and the generic coin behind the ear. As boring as the tricks would be, the kids loved them, and it kept them from telling.

Obviously magic wasn’t real. But who was she to ruin tiny children’s hopes and dreams?

The kids got what they paid for. And Himiko got the money. A fair trade. Even to her, ‘scamming’ seemed like too much of a harsh word. But ‘manipulating’ and ‘taking advantage of’ didn’t sound much better either.

Himiko, after a small sleight of hands, found herself sitting on a bench in one of the city parks. She sat slouched, one elbow placed on the bench’s railing while resting her head on her hand. She kicked the air without much care, watching the pathway. People passed by, but she really paid them no mind.

Perhaps one of the reasons why Himiko got so ‘bored’ was because, truthfully, she really didn’t have much to do with her life.

Oh, what she would do to be able to just escape the world and instead become a protagonist of her own story…

A weird example, but one that best simulated her desires.

“...Penny for your thoughts?”

Himiko blinked, turning her head towards the source of the voice.

There, standing in front of the bench, was a boy who looked around her age.

His black hair was messy and tousled and bandages covered his face, not to mention that he was wearing what looked to be a uniform. A school bag was slung around his shoulder.

Himiko stared at him for a second. She didn’t recognize this guy, so he obviously didn’t attend her school.

Which brought the question of why he was talking to her. Looking at him, he didn’t look like the peppy sort to introduce himself to people. In fact, he looked rather frail, and tired, with faint bags underneath his eyes. She expected him to be the type who spent their nights lying in bed and liking different people's relationship statuses instead of getting sleep.

She bit her lip, looking up at him. He seemed to be getting more nervous the longer she didn't respond, fidgeting with his bag's straps. More proof of her suspicions.

Still, she was at least a little intrigued. But very ready to be let down.

She arched a brow. "Depends. Do you got a penny?"

The boy blinked, obviously taken off guard.

_Well, if you can't mean it literally, then don't mean it metaphorically,_ Himiko thought to herself, unamused. 

But, to her surprise, the boy began rummaging through his bag, as though looking for something… and then pulling out a small, silver coin.

He held out his hand, where the coin sat in his palm. He didn't say anything except smile softly down at the shorter girl.

Himiko frowned at him, giving him a suspicious glare before carefully taking the coin. The boy's hand retreated back to his side.

Taking a second to inspect the coin, Himiko stored it into her pocket. She looked back at the boy, who was watching her patiently.

"Ok," Himiko sighed, "what I'm thinking is why this pale-looking emo guy is so persistent on annoying me."

Well, it wasn't like she was lying.

The boy once again blinked rapidly, stepping back out of surprise. Himiko's mouth couldn't help but twitch up in a corner, amused by the overexaggerated, but genuine, reaction.

Her eyes darted away, back at the side of the path, pass the boy. She heard a quiet 'ah' of 'well okay then', and was expecting the boy to go.

But to her surprise, she felt another presence sit beside her.

She whipped her head around, and sure enough, the other teen had taken a seat beside her. He had his bag in his lap now, and was looking down and away from her. This made Himiko's suspicions rise.

Just what was this guy planning?

Nothing ever good came out of these confrontations. Was he trying to hit on her in a weird way that wasn't hitting on her at all?

Himiko looked away again, trying to ignore him, but she knew it was too late. Her curiosity and wariness was also two of her worst enemies.

She waited a minute. Sure enough, the boy didn't stand up, nor did he make a move on her. She waited another. And another. And another…

Himiko balled her fists and scrunched up her face in frustration, finally giving in. She reached her hand into her pocket, turned her body towards the boy, and held out the coin he had given her.

The boy widened his eyes in surprise, looking down at the coin.

"Take it," Himiko demanded. "Your making me feel bad for you." She looked away, not staring long enough to see if he would take it.

That wasn't necessarily true, but this guy must not have a life if he was willing to sit next to a teen who stole his money for five whole minutes just to get it back, right?

Or, at least, she assumed he was sitting there just to get his money back. Why else would he be here?

Finally, she felt the coin leave her palm, and with a silent relieved sigh, she dropped her hand to her side.

"Thank you," she heard him say. His voice was soft, she realised when she finally took a moment to analyze it. Yet there's something shaky in the back of it, a voice vulnerable to stutters.

You could tell a lot about a person by their daily voice.

"Say, do you, um…"

Himiko closed her eyes. Finally, he was probably going to pull off a cheesy oneliner or ask her for more money, and she could deliver a witty insult and leave the bench and go home and sit there and be bored, instead of being bored with a random stranger.

"Do you want some Panta?"

Himiko took a second to analyze the question.

She turned her head towards her head, her eyes squinted and mouth hung open a little. Sure enough, the boy was holding a purple can. A purple can with a familiar logo and photo stock batch of grapes.

What was this?

Did he seriously just ask her…?

"Sure," was all she could say in a dumbfounded voice. The boy smiled softly, and handed the Grape Panta over to her. She looked down at it, just staring at it for a full minute. She turned her head back towards the boy when she heard a click noise, and sure enough the boy had another can of the same flavor of Panta, and had just opened it. She watched him take a sip.

"Who are you?" Asked Himiko, narrowing her eyes at him. What kind of guy gives people his money and pop?

The boy tilted his head at her. "I'm Ouma Kokichi." He risked another smile.

That name… still didn't ring a bell. Well, she knew by now this boy definitely wasn't in her school. No boy in her school would have Panta that they were willing to share in their school bags.

"Ah," Himiko nodded. She looked down at the can in her hand, rolling it and taking a good luck at the logo and ingredients. 

"...Do you wanna introduce yourself?" She heard Kokichi ask. 

Himiko clutched onto the pop. No, she now knew exactly what this was about. 

"Yumeno Himiko," she replied. She held the Panta closer to her voice, but tilting it away a little from her face. She used her fingernails to dent the can open, and in a quick movement, she tilted the can opening towards the boy, moving a scoot away from him…

But to her surprise, a jet stream didn't come out.

She and Kokichi stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, Kokichi's eyes darting back and forth from the bottle and to Himiko's face as if trying to figure out what was going on. Himiko's brows furrowed, thoroughly confused.

She tilted the can back up, peering into the opening with a frown. "You didn't shake it up," she said, in a rightfully dumbfounded tone.

"Ah! Of course I didn't!" Kokichi squeaked, his tone a mix of offense and shock. As though assuming he would do such a thing killed his whole shtick. "Why would I?"

"I dunno," Himiko shrugged. She took a sip of the drink. Grapey. Not really her thing. "Why wouldn't you?"

Through the corner she caught Kokichi looking down into his lap, where both his bag and can rested. "Well, that'd be kinda rude," he muttered, just loud enough for the girl to hear. 

If anything, this just made Himiko more suspicious.

"Why'd you come over anyways?" She grumbled, tilting her head towards him. "Why are you being nice to me?"

Himiko was used to dealing with assholes. Her whole school was assholes. It got boring. She wasn't used to people being nice to her except for her parents, that Chabashira girl, and Yonaga-chan. But they were nice to everyone. It got boring to a point too.

To have a boy who she never met before come and give her money(though technically she no longer had that money. She found herself regretting giving Kokichi his coin back)and a pop was the thing Himiko had been least expecting.

Intriguing, not boring.

"A-ah, well…" 

_Ah, there's that stutter._

Kokichi looked away, as though not maintaining eye contact would help build the courage to speak. "You looked kind of… lonely. And I didn't have any plans for today."

Lonely? Himiko felt like groaning. She wasn't in the mood for pity from an emo look-a-like. Pity was boring. And here she thought this conversation could be interesting…

"And…"

Himiko arched a brow when Kokichi continued.

"I can understand how it feels to be alone. I had an extra Panta can and I figured I should give it to someone who wants it."

Himiko looked down at the can in her hands with a frown. Grape Panta wasn't her favorite, but she wasn't going to complain about it now.

"But I guess I did overdo my welcome. I can go…"

Himiko put a hand on Kokichi's leg when she heard the shuffles of him repositioning his school bag, and he gave a small squeak again. That was sort of amusing, but could get old real fast.

She turned her head towards him. He was already staring at her with intense nervousness. "Ouma, right?"

Kokichi nodded without a word.

"Bring the orange flavored next time," she said, holding up her grape can. She also took her hand off the boy. She really didn't know why she touched him on his leg of all places. But she hadn't really been thinking properly.

Kokichi looked flabbergasted for a moment, but slowly he smiled and gave a firm nod. He stood up. 

"Ah… I suppose I'll meet you here tomorrow?"

"Sure," Himiko shrugged, not looking up from him. But she could somehow feel him smiling down at her.

"Alright. See you, Yumeno-san."

Himiko finally looked up to watch the paler boy leave. She tilted her head.

She didn't know why she agreed to be there. And she didn't even have to be. She could continue living her life as she normally did, doing simple magic tricks and getting money. She could stay at home instead of going to the bench and if Kokichi came, it was his own fault for however long he would wait.

_He didn't even make me tell him the time, dumbass._

Then again, didn't that raise more flags? Maybe it was some sort of complicated prank, where she would come to the bench and wait there for a boy who would never come, humiliating herself. She would never try to trust anyone again.

Still, the aspect of having someone to talk to, someone to rant to, someone to maybe not be bored with…

Himiko sighed, jumping off of the bench. She dug through her coat pockets to pull out her phone and earbuds, leaving her Panta can on the bench to keep it secure and out of the way.

With some fumbling, she inserted the buds into her phone and ears. Finally picking up her can, she swiped through her phone to reach the latest Danganronpa stream.

She took a sip of the pop before clicking play.

It tasted a little sweeter than it had been before.

Maybe giving 'trust' one last chance wouldn't be too bad.

And with that, the small girl walked back home, with plans for tomorrow.


End file.
